Submersible farm

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an improved submersible mollusc farm. According to the invention, a line of cables bearing the culture ropes and the cylindrical buoys which maintain said line horizontal is suspended from end floats. The end floats comprise a filling/emptying system using water by way of ballast, in order to raise or submerge the line by inflating said floats with air. Submerged tension buoys are connected to the aforementioned floats by means of tension cables and pulleys which are fixed to the dead weights provided at either end of the line. The vertical thrust of the above-mentioned tension buoys causes the pulley to stretch the cable and tauten the line.

This invention relates to an improved submersible shellfish farmconsisting of at least one line of cables bearing ropes to which theshellfish are attached for their rearing, said line being suspendedhorizontally from two end floats which support it in association withintermediate support buoys and is anchored by dead weights positioned ateach end of the line.

In the traditional shellfish breeding methods requiring shallow seabedsin quiet waters, matter is produced, which, in high concentrations,perturbs and offsets the balance of the surrounding ecosystem. Thisenvironmental pollution has a negative effect on the ecological balanceby causing a decrease in the plankton flow and a drop of the feedingrate of the shellfish, with a consequent reduction of the desiredproduction of cultures.

Other self-supported installations are also constructed for breedingshellfish, such as that disclosed in the document ES 1043285U byCarceller, which describes a live well improved for growing mussels inopen sea, comprising a rope or longline from which the breeding ropesare hanging and which is maintained in a horizontal position onceextended and grounded by means of weights anchored on the sea floor,while subjected to the uplift force exerted by a plurality of buoys orfloats to which it is attached in combination with a plurality ofsurface floats, said live well is provided with an improved support andbeaconing facility.

These already existing installations, in particular those withself-supporting flotation buoys, have proven their open sea capabilitiesbut have the drawback that the impact of the waves and the weight of theload during vertical movement can not only cause the detachment of theanimals due to rupture of the supporting byssus, but can also result inexhausting or stressful situations for some breeding species.

Although these open sea installations allow mooring the ship to thelongline to facilitate collection of the harvest, no description isavailable in respect to the handling of the longline which we suppose israised by crane, normally a difficult procedure.

A further negative effect on the crop is caused by the necessarymaintenance of the line at a height normally equidistant to the seabed,this being established depending on both the length of the chains usedto connect the ends of the longline to the dead weights holding saidchains to the sea floor as well as the upwards lift from the floaters.

It is one aim of the present invention to enable the breeding ofshellfish in open sea and to provide suitable conditions for adapting tothe swell, the tide and even the possible maritime traffic. A furtheraim is to avoid the occurrence of those sudden vertical movements, whichtraditional farms suffer from and which cause the detachment orexhaustion of the animals. In addition, the farm is designed in such waythat the collection or laboring of the crop can take place with nomanual intervention.

The above-mentioned aims are achieved in the improved submersible farmaccording to the present invention by suspending the line of cables andthe cylindrical buoys that maintain said line horizontally from the endfloats which comprise a filling/draining system using water by way ofballast, in order to lift or submerge the line by inflating said floatswith air. Further, the present invention relates to an anchoring systemusing submerged tension buoys that are connected to the aforementionedfloats by means of tension cables and pulleys which are fixed to thedead weights provided at either end of the line. The vertical thrust ofthe above-mentioned tension buoys causes the pulley to stretch the cableand tauten the line.

This object is achieved by means of an improved submersible shellfishfarm comprising at least one line of cables bearing spaced ropes towhich the shellfish are attached for their rearing, said line beingsuspended horizontally from two end floats which support it inassociation with intermediate support buoys and is further anchored bydead weights positioned at each end of the line. An essentialcharacteristic of the aforementioned at least one line of cables is itsability to be submerged and located at any position elevated in relationto the sea floor while guided by the vertical movement of theabove-mentioned end floats when they are in a submerged state, saidfloats being capable of being submerged or raised as a consequence oftheir inner volume being variable by filling or draining said volume ofwater or air and being those end floats connected to a surface buoycomprising an air intake valve and also connected to the aforementionedconcrete dead weights by an anchoring system which maintains the linetension.

A further essential characteristic is that said anchoring systemcomprises at least the respective end buoys conveniently submerged andarranged so as to use their uplift thrust to pull at each of said endfloats to which they are respectively connected by means of tensioningcables and pulleys fixed to said concrete dead weights.

The present invention relates to an improved submerged farm comprising aline formed by at least two parallel cables and suspended between twoend floats which act as a support for said line. Said end floats aresupplied with air through a pneumatic hose connected to an air intakevalve which is mounted on a surface buoy. The described assembly isanchored by means of dead weights located at each end of the line and inclose proximity to the aforementioned end floats respectively, to whichtwo submerged tension buoys are attached by means of a cable and apulley fixed to the dead weight, said tension buoys creating a verticalthrust which causes the stretching of the cable and tautening of theline.

According to the present invention, the culture ropes are suspended fromeach of the cables forming the line of cables in such way that spacesare left between each of said ropes and occupying each of said spacesand suspended between both parallel cables, cylindrical buoys aresuspended to ensure that the submerged line of cables is maintained in ahorizontal position, while avoiding the creation of a catenary. In thesame manner as the end floats, these buoys are supplied with the aircirculating through the pneumatic hose in such way that pressurized aircan be injected into said buoys to remove the ballast water or,alternatively, leaving the air to escape to enable the inflow of waterinto them. This method enables the adjustment of the depth at which theline is to be maintained or the raising of the line to the surface forcollection or laboring.

Said cylindrical buoys are advantageously mounted underneath of thecables so that they raise the line until the grips of the culture ropesare left outside the water.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the farmconsists of a line of cables bearing culture ropes and being suspendedbetween two end floats, which are anchored to respective concrete deadweights. Preferably, each end float, or at least one of the two, isconnected to a surface beacon buoy fitted with a system to supplypressurized or atmospheric air to the end floats, said system includingat least one air intake valve and one pneumatic hose.

The farm is advantageously anchored by means of dead weights located ateach end of the line and in close proximity to the aforementioned endfloats respectively, to which two submerged tension buoys are attachedby means of a cable and a pulley fixed to the dead weight, said tensionbuoys creating a vertical thrust which causes the stretching of thecable and tautening of the line.

The culture ropes are conveniently suspended from each of the cables inthe line in such way that cylindrical buoys are suspended between bothparallel cables, occupying the spaces between the ropes and ensuringthat the submerged line of cables is maintained in a horizontalposition, while avoiding the creation of a catenary. In the same manneras the end floats, these buoys are supplied with the air circulatingthrough the pneumatic hose in such way that pressurized air can beinjected into said buoys to remove the ballast water or, alternatively,leaving the air to escape to enable the inflow of water into them. Thismethod enables the adjustment of the depth at which the line is to bemaintained or the raising of the line to the surface for collection orlaboring.

The culture ropes are normally suspended along each of the cables in theline, maintaining a distance of one and a half meters between them andheld in that position by suitable stops. Preferably, every five metersof the line, buoys are positioned underneath of the cables to join themand to maintain the line in a substantially horizontal position.

According to the example, the culture ropes incorporate a hoop with ahandle, a gravity actuated snaphook and a ring to which theaforementioned culture rope is fastened.

The selection of the anchoring system will depend on the location wherethe farm is installed. By way of example, a preferred embodimentappropriate for locations with low tide is realized by placing at eachend of the line of cables a submerged buoy anchored to a dead weightwith a line, and which function it is to maintain the line tension bymeans of a pulley mounted on the concrete dead weight. A chain joins thesubmerged buoy and the surface buoy while providing a means of anchoringfor said buoy. A cable holding the hose connects the beacon buoy with alinking element, which joins the tensioning cable from the anchor buoyand a set of hinged bars that have the function of preventing the mainbuoys from capsizing.

Notwithstanding above example, in a second embodiment suitable forlocations with high tide, the anchoring system could comprise levelbuoys secured on the end floats of the farm line in combination with thetensioning buoys.

The example illustrates how said cylindrical buoys are advantageouslymounted underneath of the cables so that they raise the line until thegrips of the culture ropes are accessible outside the water.

To facilitate comprehension of the ideas presented here, a preferredembodiment of the present invention is given below, with reference tothe accompanying illustrative drawings, which shall not limit by theirselection or graphical representation the advantages and particularcharacteristics of this application.

The sole figure shown in the illustration sheet shows a perspective viewof one of the end parts of an improved submersible farm in accordancewith this invention, which is represented schematically so as to providea better view.

The figure shows, suspended from the end float (1), a line of parallelcables (2 and 3) bearing culture ropes (4) which are convenientlyseparated from each other by means of positioners (5) while beingsupported by cylindrical buoys (6).

The end floats (1) and the corresponding cylindrical buoys (6) arejoined by means of a pneumatic hose (7) which in turn is connected to anair intake (8) mounted on a beaconed surface buoy (9).

In the embodiment shown, the end float (1) is anchored to a concretedead weight (10) or an anchor of similar type, to which it is connectedby means of a tensioning cable (11) running on a pulley (12) attached tosaid dead weight and which connects it to a tensioning buoy (13) whichis linked to the dead weight (10) by a fixed line (14) and to thesurface buoy (9) by the anchor chain (15).

A cable (16) to which the pneumatic hose is attached joins the surfacebuoy (8) and the linking element (17), the latter also joining the endof the tensioning cable (11) and the bars (18) which aid in preventingthe end floats (1) to capsize.

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. A submersible shellfish farm comprisingat least one line of cables bearing spaced culture ropes, said at leastone line being suspended horizontally from two end floats which supportsaid at least one line in association with intermediate support buoysand is further anchored by concrete dead weights positioned at each endof the at least one line, wherein the at least one line of cables issubmersible and is elevated from a sea floor while guided by verticalmovement of the two end floats when the two end floats are submerged,said two end floats being submerged or raised based on inner volume ofsaid floats being variable by filling or draining of said inner volumeof water or air and said end floats being connected to a surface buoyincluding an air intake valve, and said two end floats are connected tothe concrete dead weights by an anchoring system which maintains tensionon the at least one line of cables.
 4. A submersible shellfish farm inaccordance with claim 3, wherein said anchoring system comprises atleast one end buoy submerged and arranged so as to use uplift thrust ofsaid buoy to pull at each of said end floats to which said end floatsare respectively connected by means of tensioning cables and pulleysfixed to said concrete dead weights.